Wayanad is a small hill station in Kerala and at around 280 km from Bangalore. It is the nearest tourist station in God’s Own Country that you can explore within 2 days. However, you can add one more day for a deeper experience.
Day 1: Ride To Wayanad From Bangalore
We started early in the morning at 4 AM as we wanted to witness the sunrise on our way. We took the route NH 275 followed by NH 212 which connects Mysore. After you cross the Mysore city traffic you will be welcomed by beautiful forest road through Bandipur National Park. There are two entry points for Bandipur National Park. One for the route to Ooty which connects Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Another, through Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary to Wayanad. We took the right turn for the second route.
In Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, safaris are available in the morning 7 am-11 am, and for the evening 3 pm-6 pm. Luckily, we framed a Gaur (Indian Bison) roaming at the roadside. Surprisingly, deers are not shy at all to be clicked at Bandipur National Park. Stopped for a few hydration breaks in between our journey. Although we were running an hour late on our scheduled journey time. Our first destination was the Edakkal caves before reaching our stay in Vythiri Stream View.
Edakkal caves are almost 20 km away from Wayanad town and 38 km from our stay. Edakkal cave is two natural prehistoric caves for paintings and pictorial writings. It is believed that Neolithic man crafted this in 6000 BCE. You have to climb uphill to the gate for the ticket counter followed by the stairs. Narrow stairs through the big boulders create traffic but the volunteers are well trained to manage the crowd.
Note to seniors is to avoid visiting caves until and unless you are fit enough to climb high. Avoid carrying any plastic bottles as they don’t allow up in the caves, checking is done at the gate. The possibility of getting tired is high. For instance, revive yourself with natural ice creams available down the road.
Vythiri stream view stay is inside a tea plantation and gives a serene view of tea garden and hills on the backdrop. Above all, breakfast is complimentary. After finishing authentic Kerala meals, we started for the Lakkidi viewpoint to experience the sunset. Breathtaking views of all the hairpin roads down the valley will create good photo memories. In conclusion, it was a worthy ride from Bangalore till the time we experienced it.
It was magical when last sun rays touched Hilltop and the entire valley turns golden in color. The viewpoint was 6 km from our stay and 16 km from the main city Kalpetta. Roadside munches are available on the way back to the city from the viewpoint.
Day 2: Roaming Around Nearby Places
The next day, we started early after finishing our breakfast as we were supposed to trek the Chembra peak. The starting point for the Chembra peak was almost 28 km from our stay. Distance between trek starting point till watch tower is about 1 km. From watchtower to Heart shape lake is 2 km far. The heart-shaped lake and Chembra peak are about 1.5 km away.
Unfortunately, the route was closed due to heavy rain and we started our return journey to Bangalore. Tried some juicy, sweet, and heavenly mangoes roadside just after Sulthan Bathhery. Being a Bengali guy can’t resist it. In short, it was a good trip for the weekend, spending a few days in the middle of greeneries.
What Experience You Can Gain
If you like to spend a few days in nature – definitely Wayanad is your place. Though, our core focus was to hop every viewpoint in Wayanad, trust me you can skip that. A journey is all about experiencing new things and for that, you have to take your time to get up and close.
This is all about my journey to Wayanad and I have my all reasons to go back again. I tried to portray my story through photographs for a better understanding of the place.
All images clicked in Oppo Reno, the very first smartphone I used to use to improve smartphone photography.